Showing posts with label foster care. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foster care. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Former Miami Herald Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos -whose position at the Herald remains unfilled 27 months later by McClatchy execs- as NPR's Ombudsman, lays the wood into NPR's Laura Sullivan & Amy Walters for a 2011 investigation re foster care in South Dakota, which officials there took umbrage with, and for good reason it seems. “My finding is that the series was deeply flawed and should not have been aired as it was”







Poynter.org
NPR stands by story its ombudsman criticized
by Andrew Beaujon
Published Aug. 12, 2013 5:29 pm
Updated Aug. 12, 2013 5:34 pm
There are six chapters of NPR Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos’ epic examination of Laura Sullivan and Amy Walters’ October 2011 investigation about foster care in South Dakota.
The series won awards but was also criticized by the state’s governor and head of its Department of Social Services. “Many South Dakota residents also have written me in disapproval of it,” Schumacher-Matos writes. “My finding is that the series was deeply flawed and should not have been aired as it was.” 
Read the rest at:












Edward Schumacher-Matos split his Ombudsman position at the Miami Herald in May of 2011 after he'd been WITHOUT either a blog or a weekly print or online column, but rather saddled with a peculiar once-in-a-while, sometimes every 3-4 months column thing, for NPR in Washington, D.C. 

Schumacher-Matos' position at the Herald remains unfilled 27 months later by McClatchy execs, who seem to place no value on readers and their questions of fairness or bias having a seat at the table.
There's nobody to represent readers' deep and justified concerns about examples of bias, misrepresentation and flackery in the paper on behalf of South Florida's powerful and privileged, who have high-powered attorneys and PR consultants to ensure they are seen only in the most positive light.

But then that's just one of many unresolved customer problems there these days that cause it to lose readers every week.
It's fair to say that a lot of people in South Florida took ESM and his position for granted, including lots of local bloggers and politicians, and the Herald certainly did him no favors by NOT giving him much of a perch to speak out from.

But something, even infrequent, is better than nada, and right now, with that reader level of confidence among serious readers of the Herald as low as it's ever been, it's worth a minute to consider what message they are sending when they refuse to name anyone to that position.

His infrequent columns at least tried to keep Herald reporters and editors on the level and be square with readers, but since he left, anything goes -and does.

While I've written about this troubling subject many times on this blog, and have written Herald management and editors about their failure to fill the position, even posting those emails to them here for you to see for yourselves, it's clear they have a different point-of-view.
It is what it is.

To see how indifferent they are to reader perceptions of bias or unfairness, take a poke at my blog post from May of 2012 titled, "What's going on at the Miami Herald? More than a year after the last one fled, the Herald still lacks an Ombudsman -and shows no sign of getting one- to represent readers deep concerns about bias, misrepresentation and flackery on behalf of South Florida's powerful & privileged at the Herald. And that's just one of many unresolved problems there..." 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Growing anger in Great Britain as foster-care scandal widens by the hour as party leaders & pols of all stripes condemn Labour-led Rotherham Council Social Services removal of three children from experienced foster-parents -with spotless record- because of their political beliefs


ITV News YouTube Channel: UKip leader Nigel Farage on Rotherham fostering case. Uploaded November 26, 2012. http://youtu.be/Gc_lw7V6iTM
This is from today and was uploaded this afternoon, U.S. Eastern time


Growing anger in Great Britain as foster-care scandal widens by the hour as party leaders & pols of all stripes condemn Labour-led Rotherham Council Social Services removal of three children from experienced foster-parents -with spotless record- because of their political beliefs. 
The three children involved are a baby girl, a boy and an older girl, and the couple who have been foster parents many times before consist of a retired Royal Navy reservist who works with disabled children and his wife who is a is a licensed nursery nurse. Political correctness run amok!


ITV News YouTube Channel: Conservative Party co-chair Michael Fabricant on possible pact with UKip that would allow a straight-up Yes or No referendum on EU membership if UKip doesn't oppose them. But today UKip has pulled their willingness to participate in such a pact because of Prime Minister David Cameron's comments. 

On Saturday, though, Channel 4 News' "Snowmail" news email, which I subscribe to had a subject header that read, "Cameron's U-turn on Ukip: they're 'not closet racists.'" But then Downing Street retracted the retraction! Uploaded November 26, 2012. http://youtu.be/6hbadVRcKdo 

BBC News, Daily Politics show: Rotherham Council faces fostering legal threat from UKip. Party leader Nigel Farage has suggested taking legal action against them after it removed foster children from a family who are members of his party. November 26, 2012. Video at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20496707



View Larger Map

Rotherham is located in South Yorkshire

Now here's more on the story in chronological order...


Saturday...



Channel 4 News video: The Rotherham Borough Council's Social Services' decision to remove three happy and well-adjusted foster children from emergency placement from their experienced foster-parents is 'indefensible' says Minister of Education Michael Gove. This report gives a timeline on the situation. Posted November 24, 2012.


Channel 4 News video: UKip leader Nigel Farage responds to questions from Channel 4 news presenter on 'racist' tag. Posted November 24, 2012.
Video at http://bcove.me/2fjaiir8

BBC News video: Labour leader Ed Miliband: 'Urgent investigation' into fostering row. Posted November 24, 2012. 
Video at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20475812


UKIP Webmaster YouTube Channel video: Foster-parent scandal in Rotherham. Various news bites from SkyNews and BBC. A solid case of Political Correctness run amok that's taking children from parents with a spotless record? Uploaded November 24, 2012. http://youtu.be/WwpNYUvaLfk

On Sunday morning, as more and more people have learned the facts, people woke-up to this shocking news in The Daily Mail...

We were RIGHT to take foster children away from Ukip couple insists social workers as they blame party's 'extreme' views for decision

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238155/We-RIGHT-foster-children-away-Ukip-couple-insists-social-workers.html


UKIP Webmaster YouTube Channel video: On the BBC's Sunday Politics show, host Andrew Neil spoke to Tim Loughton, a conservative Party MP and the former Labour Minister for Children and Families and Liam Byrne, a Labour MP, and current Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, on the story that has everyone up-in-arms and wondering if there's something rotten in Rotherham? Uploaded November 25, 2012. http://youtu.be/P86iRpSc9tc
The complete interview between Neil and Byrne is at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20495841

Liarspoliticians YouTube Channel is at: http://www.youtube.com/user/liarpoliticians


Updated news and videos on this story at http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/news/rotherham

Friday, February 10, 2012

A timely FYI from my friend, Charlotte Greenbarg re Florida SB 1808: "Don't let seven-year old Gabriel Meyers' death be in vain!"


A timely FYI from my friend, Charlotte Greenbarg re Florida SB 1808: "Don't let seven-year old Gabriel Meyers' death be in vain!"
In case you forgot about the absolutely heart-breaking story about seven-year old Gabriel Meyers, just take a peek at this article, video and blog post and it should all come back to you in all its sordid misery and bureaucratic red-tape, http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/initiatives/GMWorkgroup/index.shtmlor see this video from 2009 featuring Florida State Sen. Ronda Storms, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuqRNRCX8Zc


SB 1808: Provision of Psychotropic Medication to Children in Out-of-home Placements
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2012/1808


Having heard two separate accounts -in-between sobs- from two separate Broward
parents on Thursday night in Hollywood, at Broward Supt. Robert Runcie's last
"Listening Tour" meeting, about their young kids talking about committing suicide because of bullying at school, and the Broward School system's continued inability to handle things -one of the bullies made new threats last week AFTER returning from being suspended!- this tragic case of child suicide in Margate in 2009 reminds us that helping children and protecting them from the practice of over-medicating powerful drugs to numb them, is exactly the sort of black-and-white issue that people in Tallahassee need to finally face-the-music on, before they show their faces around here after the legislative session is over.


Palm Beach Post political reporter Dara Kam wrote the following post Thursday night at their Post on Politics blog about the future of :



House won’t make it harder for state to put foster kids on psych drugs
by Dara Kam | February 9th, 2012
Sen. Ronda Storms’ bill that would make it harder for doctors to put foster kids on mind-altering drugs passed another milestone in the Senate today, but its future is bleak.

http://www.postonpolitics.com/2012/02/house-wont-make-it-harder-for-state-to-put-foster-kids-on-psych-drugs/


And here's the email I found in my inbox when I got home from Hollywood:


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Charlotte Greenbarg
Date: Thu, Feb 9, 2012 at 7:41 PM
Subject: Don't let Gabriel Meyers' death be in vain!
To: Charlotte Greenbarg
Cc: storms.ronda.web@flsenate.gov


There is an important vote in the House of Representatives and I urge you not to forget GABRIEL MEYERS, A 7 YEAR OLD FOSTER CHILD WHO HUNG HIMSELF while under the influence of pych drugs not approved by FDA --and prescribed by a Broward doctor who still believes there was nothing wrong with multiple adults drugs prescribed to a 7 year old.

Senator Ronda Storms has done an outstanding job in bringing the issue of psych drugs and foster care children to everyone's attention in Tallahassee, but her pleas may be ignored without your call or email. This child died in Broward County---- and it is our obligation not to allow his death to be ignored .....until the next child dies. 

Please contact your representatives; if you don't know who they are, follow this link : http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/representatives.aspx